FI67065C - LAGERANLAEGGNING - Google Patents

Abstract

A storage plant (8) including vertically pileable load carriers (3), which carry the goods to be stored, the load carriers (3) being stacked in a plurality of vertical piles (4), which are arranged close to each other. Moreover, the plant includes pile beds (2) supporting the pile (4) of load carriers (3) by means of support members (12) at a distance above the floor (5) of the storage plant (8), and at least one carriage (6) for insertion of the load carriers (3) in the piles (4) and for removal of them therefrom.Each load carrier (3) is provided with stationary downwards extending rest members, which are adapted to cooperate with complementary upwards extending support members secured on each pile bed (2). The rest members of the lower load carrier (3) of the pile (4) are arranged to be brought out of and into engagement with the support members (12) of the pile bed (2) by menas of vertical movement of the load carriers (3), which is performed by the carriage (16).

Description

I- -— -Ί rÄl M <l. ANNOUNCEMENT ^ on ^ r W (11) UTLAGGNINGSSKRIFT 670 65 ^ ^ (S1) Kv.Hu/lM.a.3 B 65 G 1/04 ENGLISH I — FI N LAN D pi) htMaw »* - httiMrtioitai 793763 (22) Htkumbpilvi — AmSkningadag 30.11.79 (23) AlbipUvt — GlIttgHacadag 30.11.79 (41) Tullut Iwlkiaakal - Mlvft «HamHg 05.06.80 PHtattti. and management (44) NihtMU | Mnon „pmv- or no'rl

Patent- och reglsterstyreleen AnOkaa · utlagd och udakrMtan pubtlcerad ^ o.u ^ .oh (32) (33) (31) PyrdMcy atuoHteue — Bagird prtorkac ° 4.12.78

Sweden-Sverige (SE) 7812441-9 (71) (72) Siegfried Delius, Rothemsvägen 10, S-595 00 Mjölby,

This invention relates to storage equipment comprising vertically stackable load carriers supporting the goods to be stored, Doris Delius, Rothemsvägen 10, S-595 00 Mjölby, Sweden-Sweden (SE) (74) Oy Jalo Ant-Wuorinen Ab (54) wherein the load carriers are stacked in a plurality of vertically arranged vertical stacks, and stacking pallets supported by the support devices on the load carrier stacks spaced from the floor of the storage equipment, and at least one transport trolley for feeding and removing the load carriers from the stacks.

The storage equipment is specially designed for the automatic handling of load carriers and can be computer-controlled.

A storage device of this type is previously known, for example, from German DOS publication 2,024,337, which discloses a storage device in which the lowest load carrier of a load carrier stack is supported by a stacking platform by means of support members. The lowest load carrier has fixed rest members which co-operate with correspondingly shaped rotating support members on a stacking platform. When the stack is raised by the transport carriage, the support members of the stacking platform can be turned to the side and the stack can be lowered so that the rest members of the lowest load carrier can bypass the supporting members of the stacking platform turned to the side. The support members of the stacking platform are then folded back and the stacking is further lowered, these support members cooperating mainly with the rest members of the lowest load carrier. When the transport trolley is lowered even further down, the lowest load carrier is separated, while the stacking platform supports the rest of the stack. The separated load carrier can then be removed by means of a transport trolley. When the load carrier is stored in a stack, the operation is the opposite.

A disadvantage of previously known storage devices of this type is that they have movable support members (in this case, swivel). These support members must be able to support the weight of the entire stack and are exposed to high stresses. These reversible support members therefore form a detail which is difficult to make work satisfactorily and which is easily deformed. For this reason, such reversible details must be avoided in automated warehouse systems that should operate unattended. In addition, the load-bearing stacks must be so severe that they can be moved automatically without the risk of tipping over.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a storage apparatus in which the above-mentioned drawback has been eliminated and which is suitable for automatic, computer-controlled operation.

According to the present invention, each load carrier comprises fixed downwardly directed rest members intended to co-operate with correspondingly shaped upwardly directed support members fixedly arranged on a respective stacking base. The rest members of the lowest load carrier in the stack are adapted to be brought into contact with and detached from the support members of the stack base in a manner known per se through the vertical movements of the load carriers carried out by the transport carriage. When the rest members of the load carrier and the support members of the stack base are detached from contact with each other, the load carrier stack can be moved laterally with respect to the stack by the transport carriage so that rest members with limited lateral extension

So there are only moving parts in the transport wagon. However, these parts are conventional machine parts whose satisfactory reliability is relatively easy to achieve.

In order to guide the stacks safely and securely, the rest members of the load carrier and / or the stacking platforms are provided with inclined guide surfaces for guiding the rest members to engage. The rest members of the load carriers preferably comprise two downwardly directed oblique surfaces intersecting each other in a V-shape, while the support members of the stacking platform comprise two upwardly directed oblique surfaces having a shape corresponding to the shape of the rest members. The line of intersection of the inclined surfaces of the rest members of the load carrier is horizontal and perpendicular to the direction of said lateral displacement. To guide the corresponding load carrier in the stack, each load carrier comprises four corner posts with pyramid-shaped guides at the upper ends and recesses adapted to them at the lower ends for stacking the load carriers vertically on top of each other. The pyramid-shaped guides are preferably rectangular and the guides of the two adjacent corner posts are arranged substantially perpendicular to each other.

The transport trolley consists of a frame that moves on wheels and is motor-driven. The frame supports a vertically movable lifting table provided with gripping members, preferably pyramidal guides, which co-operate with the lowest load carrier in the stack. Alternatively, the lifting table may comprise a conveyor belt which, in the outlet position of the transport carriage, conveys the goods to (or out of) the load carrier. The conveyor belt may be synchronized with the conveyor belt in the storage equipment to continue transporting the goods.

The foregoing, as well as other objects, advantages, and special features, will become apparent from the following description, which refers to some suitable embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a suitable structure of a storage device according to the invention. Fig. 2 shows a horizontal cross-section of a part of the stacking platform and load carriers of the storage apparatus according to Fig. 1. Figures 3a and 3b show, on a larger scale, perspective views of the area III surrounded in Figure 2. Fig. K shows a side view of the transport carriage of the storage apparatus according to Fig. 1. Figures 5a-f show schematic side views of the different stages of loading the load carriers. Figs. 6a-f schematically show side views of the different stages of the load carrier output. Figures 7a-b show a side view, respectively a plan view, of an alternative construction of a load carrier according to the invention. Figs. 8a-b show a side view, respectively a plan view, of the top of the corner post of the load carrier according to Fig. 7. Fig. 9 shows a perspective view of an alternative construction of a load carrier and a stacking platform according to the invention.

Fig. 10 shows a side view of an alternative structure of a transport carriage 4 67065 provided with a conveyor belt.

With particular reference to Figure 1 of the drawing, there is shown a suitable embodiment of a storage device according to the invention. The storage apparatus 1 comprises stacking pallets 2 arranged in adjacent rows A, B and C. It is obvious that the number of rows and the number of stacking pallets in the rows can be varied as required. Each row ends at the discharge station 8, where the goods are loaded and unloaded. The storage equipment further comprises a plurality of load carriers 3 which can be stacked on top of each other into stacks 4 supported by the stacking pallets 2 at a distance above the floor 5 of the storage equipment. The storage apparatus finally comprises one or more transport carriages 6, which are preferably guided by means of rails 7 fixed to the floor, on which they move under the stacks 4. The stacks 4 are located so high above the floor 5 that the transport carriage 6 with its load carrier 3 can move freely under them.

The stacking bases 2 consist of vertical columns 11 arranged on the floor 5 in a rectangular pattern, which are provided with support members 12 for supporting the load support stack 4. The column 11 is preferably a rectangular iron tube and each column may be arranged to support adjacent stacks simultaneously and thus may be provided with one to four support members 12. As will be seen in Figure 2, four adjacent columns delimit an area or stack surface for one stack 4.

Each load carrier 3 comprises a rectangular frame 15 and four corner posts 16 extending upwards from the corners of the frame.

The frame 15 supports the goods 14 to be stored. At the upper end of each corner post there is a guide 17 formed by a pyramid-shaped protrusion which is substantially square in cross-section. The corner post is made of an iron tube of square cross-section and the pyramid-second guide protrusion fits mainly at the lower end of the corner post above so that the load carriers can be stacked on top of each other. The guides center the corner posts on top of each other and allow the load carrier stack to become self-stable.

At the bottom of each corner post there is an outwardly projecting rest member 18 intended to co-operate with and rest on the support member 12 of the vertical post 11 to support the stack 4. The rest member shown in detail in Figure 3a comprises a projecting support provided with downwardly directed gripping surfaces 19, 20 which form an angle with each other. The section line 21 between the surfaces 19, 20 is mainly horizontal. The support member 12 of the vertical column is provided with corresponding surfaces 22, 23, between which the section line 2b is also substantially horizontal. The support member 12 of the vertical column is further provided with guide surfaces 25 in connection with the rest members with the support members 12.

Fig. B shows in more detail a transport carriage 6 comprising a lifting table 30 with four pyramidal guides 31 on the upper surface (see Fig. 1) cooperating with the respective ends of the four corner posts 16 of the load carrier. The lifting table 30 is supported by two pairs 32, 33 under the lifting table to be lifted and lowered. The first tine arm 32 is rotatably connected at its upper end to the second edge of the lifting table and at its lower end it supports a freely rotating flange wheel J> b. The second scissor arm 33 is rotatably connected by a shaft 37 to the first scissor arm 32 approximately from their centers and supports a freely rotating flange wheel 35 at its lower end. The upper end of the second scissor arm 33 supports a wheel 36 running along the flat lower surface of the lifting table 30. The flange wheels J> b and 35 run along rails 7 fixed to the floor 5 of the storage equipment.

A hydraulic piston-cylinder device 38 is further attached to the lower part of the second scissor arm 33, and its movable piston rod b2 is articulated to a lever arm 39 fixed to the first scissor arm 32 adjacent to the articulated shaft 37. Retraction or extension of the piston rod thus causes the lifting table to rise or fall.

The cradle 00 is articulated to the lower end of the second scissor arm 33 and supports the drive wheel b1 and the electric motor b2, which rotates the drive wheel through the gear. The motor has two speeds in both directions of rotation. The drive wheel 41 contacts the floor 5 of the storage equipment and frictionally moves the transport carriage at high or low speed in both directions.

The cradle ^ 0 further supports an electrically operated hydraulic pump bb, which is connected to the Hydra-uli cylinder 38 via an electromagnetically controlled hydraulic valve b'y.

The cradle further supports an electric control unit 50, to which electricity is supplied from the electric rail 51 via a drag contact 52. The control unit 50 supplies the drive current to the drive motor b2 and the hydraulic pump bb depending on the operation to be performed.

In addition, two sensors 53 and 5 are connected to the control unit 50. The first sensor 53 is located in the cradle next to the rails 7. The rails have three markings 55, 56 and 57 for each stack b, which are aligned with the sensor 53 when the transport carriage 6 is under the stack b. More specifically, 6,67065 is the middle marking 56 on the sensor 53 when the transport carriage is directly below the stack on the stacking platform. The second sensor 3b is on the hydraulic cylinder 38. There are three markings 58, 59 and 60 on the piston rod b3 protruding from the cylinder. . Sensors 53 and 3b and markings 55 to 60 may be of the electromagnetic, inductive or optical type or of another type known per se. Sensors 53 and 3b supply their signals to the control unit 50 ·

It will be appreciated that the above electrical equipment may, if necessary, be replaced by corresponding pneumatic or hydraulic equipment or combinations thereof.

The control unit 50 may be connected to a computer 61 provided with a terminal, the capacity of which may be adapted to the size of the warehouse. The computer stores information about where the different types of goods are located in the warehouse and controls the transport trolleys as described in more detail below. For smaller warehouses, it is sufficient if the control unit 50 is a miniature computer that can be programmed to control the carriage to perform certain work steps.

The following explains the operating principle of the storage equipment. Reference is made to Figures 5a-f and 6a-f, which show the storage of one load carrier in the lower part of the stack and its removal.

The load carrier 3 on the transport trolley 6 with its goods must be stored in a certain stack. In its lower position, the transport carriage can pass under the stacks b along the rails 7 between the posts 11 of the stacking pallets. When the carriage approaches the right stack and the first sensor 53 is aligned with the corresponding first marking 55 on the rail, the first sensor sends a signal to the control unit 5 ° 1 which reduces the speed of the motor b2. When the first sensor 53 is aligned with the second, middle marking 56 of the rail, the first sensor sends a signal to the control unit 30, which stops the motor b2 and thus also the transport carriage.6. The transport trolley is then located directly below the stack of load carriers 3 + + stored on the stacking platform 2. This situation is shown in Fig. 5a · The lifting table 30 is then raised by means of a hydraulic cylinder 38 until the second sensor 3b is aligned with the central marking 59. The lifting table is then in its central position, which is shown in Fig. 5b. The load carrier 3 to be stored in the stack b on the lifting table 30 acts through its corner posts 16 together with the lowest load carrier 3 of the stack. The load carrier guides 17 7 67065 are then fitted to the corresponding lower ends of the corner posts of the load carrier above. As the rising movement continues, the entire stack rises as one unit, whereby the load carrier 3 on the lifting table 30 forms the lowest load carrier of the stack. The entire stack is now raised to said central position. During this lifting movement, the rest members 18, which were previously in contact with the support members 12 of the vertical columns 11, have become detached from their contact with the support members.

The carriage 6 is then moved forward along the rails 7 until the first sensor 53 is aligned with the third marking 57 on the rail. In this case, the rest members 18 of the corner posts 16 of the load carrier have passed the support members 12 of the vertical posts 11 laterally. The transport carriage is then in the situation shown in Fig. 5c. The lifting table 30 is then moved upwards until the second sensor 5 is aligned with the third marking 60 on the piston rod. The lifting table is then in the upper position shown in Fig. 5d. In this situation, the rest members of the lowest load carrier 3 on the lifting table 30 have passed the support members 12 and are located above them. The control unit 50 then activates the motor k2 to move the transport carriage at a low speed until the first sensor 53 is aligned with the middle, i.e. the second marking 56 on the rail. In this case, the rest members 18 of the lowest load carrier of the stack move so that they are located vertically directly above the support members 12 of the vertical columns. This position is shown in Figure 5e. Finally, the lifting table is lowered, whereby the rest members 18 of the lowest load carrier 3 are brought into contact with the support members 12 of the vertical columns, as shown in Fig. 5f, where the stacking base 2 supports the stack and the new load carrier 3 is stored in the lowest stack. The lifting table 30 can remain in its middle or lower position. ‘The first end position is shown in Fig. 5f ·, The course of events is reversed when the load carrier k in the lowest stack 4 is to be removed. This operation can be seen in Figures 6a-f. Initially, the transport carriage 6 is guided directly under the stack 4, i. the first sensor 53 is aligned with the corresponding center mark 56 (Fig. 6a). The lifting table 30 is then raised in cooperation with the lowest load carrier of the stack to lift the entire stack so that the rest members 18 detach from the support members 12 (Fig. 6b). The carriage 6 is then moved laterally until the first sensor 53 is aligned with the third marking 57 (Fig. 6c), after which the transport carriage is lowered to its central position where the second sensor 5 is aligned with the second marking 59 of the piston rod 3 (Fig. 6d). The carriage 67065 is then moved back to a position where the first sensor 53 is directly below the second mark 56 of the rail 7 (Fig. 6e). Finally, the lifting table .50 is lowered to its lowest position, where the second sensor 5 ^ is aligned with the marking 60 on the piston rod ^ 3 (Fig. 6f). In this case, the lowest load carrier 3 detaches from the above stack h, which is then supported by the support members 12 of the vertical columns. The transport trolley together with the load carrier is then moved to the discharge station 8.

The control unit 50 obtains information about the stack below which the transport carriage 6 is located by counting the number of groups of markings 55-57 that the carriage passes. The trolley is more suitably moved at high speed between different stacks when the transport trolley is empty or carries only one load carrier with its goods. During the storage and removal phase described above, in which the transport trolley supports the entire load carrier stack, the transport trolley is operated at a low speed to avoid the risk of the stack tipping over.

It is obvious that if a load carrier that is higher in the stack is to be accessed, more storage and removal is required to change the locations of the load carriers appropriately. This is preferably controlled by means of a computer 61 in order to minimize the need for alterations to remove and / or store a particular group of load carriers. In this case, the computer always has information on the location of each individual load carrier. In more demanding warehouse handling, storage may involve several logical shifts in multiple stacks to place that load carrier in the "right place" in a particular stack. Thus, the most sought after variety of goods may be located at the bottom of the stack or vice versa. During the night, a so-called cleaning can be performed in the stack to correct the clutter caused by changes during the day, depending on the demand frequency. The computer 61 may also be programmed to store in its memory how often a particular item of goods has been requested and can be continuously programmed further depending on the orders received. The computer can also be programmed to make the necessary changes during the night to quickly feed out a specific load carrier period in the morning.

At the above-mentioned discharge station 8, the goods on the load carrier are reloaded. This may mean that the loading platform 9 on the load carrier is lifted off the load carrier by means of a forklift truck (not shown). Alternatively, conveyor belts may be used, as described in more detail below. The discharge station may comprise switches (not shown) which allow each transport trolley to be guided to the respective stacking rows A, B, C.

9 67065

As will be apparent to one skilled in the art, the above warehouse equipment may be modified in detail to accommodate the needs of an individual warehouse. These changes and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the invention.

Figures 7a and b and Figures 8a and b show an alternative embodiment of a load carrier according to the invention. In this case, the corner posts 16 of the load carrier are provided with an alternative guide 65. The guide 65 is clearly shown in Figures 8a and b and is pyramid-shaped, but its cross-section or bottom surface is rectangular. The guides 16 of adjacent corner posts are arranged perpendicular to each other. In this way, the guides 65 are guided more securely to the lower end of the corner post of the load carrier above. It is clear that the dimensions of the load carrier are adapted to the goods to be stored in the warehouse so that the goods fit the load carrier.

Figure 9 shows a third embodiment of a load carrier according to the invention. The upper ends of the corner posts 16 are then provided with guides 66, the bottom surface of which is rectangular and the cross-sectional surface viewed from the side is triangular. Each guide 66 has four surfaces, two of which are rectangular and two triangular. The triangular surfaces are essentially vertical, while the rectangular surfaces intersect, forming an obtuse angle. Controllers for two adjacent corner posts 6? and 68 are arranged substantially perpendicular to each other.

The load carrier according to Figure 9 is provided with an alternative embodiment of the rest member 69. The rest members consist mainly of parallelepiped-shaped iron pieces attached to the corner posts 16, for example by welding. The upper surface of the rest member is inclined downward from the corner post to form a guide if the rest members tend to strike the support members of the uprights during the upward movement when the load carrier is stored in place. The resting member further comprises a lower surface which is also inclined downwards from the corner post.

The stacking platform 75 shown in Fig. 9 comprises vertical columns 76 and beams resting on them. There are longitudinal beams 76 parallel to the rails 7 fixed to the floor 5 of the storage equipment, and cross beams 77 connecting two adjacent beams 76 and extending somewhat beyond the longitudinal beams. The principle of operation of the stacking platform is clearly shown in Fig. 9. The upper surface of the cross beams 77 may be slightly inclined to correspond to the lower surface 71 of the rest members 69.

10 67065

Finally, Figure 10 shows an alternative construction of the transport carriage. The carriage 80 comprises a frame 81 with four flange wheels 82 running along said rails. Protruding upwards from the frame are four vertical columns 83 in which the lifting table 8 ^ is guided in a vertically movable manner. The lifting table is operated by suitable actuators on vertical columns, for example four hydraulic cylinders. The lifting table comprises guides 86 which come into contact with the load carrier 3.

The carriage 80 is further provided with an endless conveyor belt 87 which passes over the rollers 88 and is driven by a motor 89. The upper surface 90 of the conveyor belt is at such a height that when the lifting table supports the load carrier, the conveyor belt fully supports the goods. When the transport carriage is located at the discharge station 8, the drive motor 89 is started, whereby the goods are fed to the conveyor belt 91 at the discharge station, which transports the goods out of the warehouse. The course of operations is reversed when the goods are fed to the load carrier. In this case, the sensor can sense when the goods are completely on the bracket. In this way, fully automatic warehouse handling can be implemented. Alternatively, the conveyor belt 87 of the transport carriage 80 may be raised and lowered so that it can only move the goods at the discharge station 8.

Some further variations on the embodiments are likely to be possible within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims (5)

67065 A storage apparatus comprising: vertically stackable load carriers (3) supporting goods to be stored, the load carriers (3) being stacked in a plurality of vertically arranged vertical stacks (4); stacking platforms (2) which, by means of support devices, support the load-bearing stacks at a distance from the floor (5) of the storage equipment; and for feeding and removing the load carriers of at least one transport carriage (6) to and from the stacks, characterized in that each load carrier (3) comprises fixed downwardly directed rest members (18) for cooperating with correspondingly shaped, correspondingly arranged upwards of the stacking base (2) directed support members (12), wherein the rest members (18) of the lowest load carrier (3) in the stack (4) are adapted to contact the support members (12) of the stack platform and in a manner known per se from the vertical movements of the load carriers which the carriage ( 6) perform; and that when the resting members (18) of the load carrier and the support members (12) of the stack base are detached from contact with each other, the load carrier stack can be moved laterally with respect to the stacking platform by a transport carriage so that the rest members to store or remove the load carrier. Storage device according to claim 1, characterized in that the rest members (18) and / or the support members (12) are provided with oblique guide surfaces (19, 20, 22, 23, 25) for guiding the rest members into contact with the support arm. Storage installation according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the resting members (18) of the load carrier comprise two downwardly directed oblique surfaces (19, 20) intersecting each other in a V-shape and in that the support members (12) of the stacking platform comprise two upwardly directed oblique surfaces (18). 22, 23), the shape of which corresponds to the shape of the resting members. 67065 12 Storage device according to Claim 3, characterized in that the intersecting line (21) of the inclined surfaces of the rest members of the load carrier is horizontal and perpendicular to the direction of lateral displacement. Storage installation according to Claim 1, characterized in that the conveyor carriage (6) comprises a conveyor belt (87) which, at the conveyor carriage discharge station (8), feeds or discharges the goods onto the load carrier.